A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communications networks and, more particularly, to systems and methods that standardize an interface for configuration and management of different types of network resources.
B. Description of Related Art
Network devices and resources, such as routers, used to connect to a network, such as the Internet, are managed by a set of rules or policies. The commands used to configure or manage these devices typically differ from device-to-device. For example, a line of devices by one vendor typically requires different commands than devices by another vendor. Even different types of devices by the same vendor may require different commands.
As such, users desiring to connect to the network must adapt their systems to the requirements of the network devices. These users typically have limited knowledge of the different commands required to configure or manage these devices.
A need exists for systems and methods that facilitate the management and configuration of network devices having different command sets.
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this need by providing a policy-based network management protocol that presents a standard interface to users and network managers.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a system facilitates configuration of at least one of multiple network devices of different types. The system includes a configuration database, a policies database, a configuration generator, and a protocol engine. The configuration database stores data that defines a configuration for the network device. The policies database stores rules for configuring the network device. The configuration generator generates a deployable configuration from the data in the configuration database and the rules in the policies database. The protocol engine deploys the deployable configuration to the network device.